Father Anthony Paulhus, MM

Born: December 30, 1891
Ordained: June 23, 1917
Died: October 12, 1958

Anthony Paulhus was born on December 30, 1891 at St. Hugues, P.Q., Canada. He was ordained for the Fall River Diocese on June 23, 1917. Three years later, in April of 1920, he was permitted by his bishop to join Maryknoll. His first assignment was to the faculty at the Venard where he showed his ability as a teacher.

In 1922 he was assigned to Kongmoon and there, in 1923, he began his long association with the minor seminary, as rector and professor, that trained so many Chinese priests.

Any other man might have been discouraged at the slow progress and the disappointing results in the early years. At the outset it was necessary to repeat some of the primary school training before these boys were ready for seminary studies. Somehow, through all the chaotic conditions of the 1920s due to warlordism and a lack of a stable central government, Fr. Paulhus was still able to keep going. During the Japanese War his pupils had to trek inland to join the Wuchow seminarians at Tanchuk. In spite of all obstacles he kept the goal of building up the native clergy as the foremost object of his apostolate and he lived to see the day when this was accomplished; for when the Communists took over almost half the priests in the Kongmoon Diocese were Chinese and several of them were pastors.

In August, 1951 he was expelled from China and on his return to America he asked for an immediate assignment and joined the faculty at Lakewood in September. In 1954 he was assigned to the Venard to teach French and Latin, and he was preparing for another school year when he was stricken.

Two weeks before his death Father Paulhus fell ill, and entered St. Mary’s Hospital. It was on a Sunday morning, October 12, 1958, as he was preparing to receive Holy Communion, that he passed away.

The funeral was held at the Venard on the 16th. Father General was the celebrant, Fr. Thomas Kiernan the Deacon and Fr. George Gilligan the Subdeacon. Burial was at Maryknoll that same afternoon.